booktalesy Chapter 3380 The Joy of Harvest
Chapter 3380 The Joy of Harvest
Chapter 3380 The Joy of Harvest
Instead of staying in the classroom at night, a group of silly kids gathered in the vegetable garden, singing, dancing, and reciting poems in praise of the thriving fruits and vegetables!
Amidst songs, dances, and poems of praise, the harvest festival officially began.
When Xiaobai announced the start of the harvest party, some silly kids immediately tried to rush into the vegetable garden to grab some vegetables, but luckily Xiaobai was prepared!
Robin, wielding an inflatable steel fork nicknamed "Devil's Horns," immediately stood in front of the children, and then, she was breached!
The second iron gate was held down by Dudu and Shi Baobao and others. Dudu held down the two most unruly kids, Zhou Zizi and Tian Xiaoya, with one hand on each of them!
Even when held down, the two little ones kept bouncing around: "Let us through! Let us through! I want to pick cucumbers!!"
"Get out of here!" Dudu's expression was serious and earnest. If she didn't agree, no one could get past her, including Liuliu.
Liu Liu gave her a deep look, struggled with herself for a moment, and silently gave up her plan to take advantage of the situation.
Zhou Zizi and Tian Xiaoya were suppressed, but the other children were no threat; a little intimidation was enough to make them behave.
Seeing that the situation was under control, Xiaobai, holding the microphone, said, "Because our vegetable garden is small and can't accommodate so many people, everyone please stay where you are. I will give the task of picking fruits and vegetables to the most obedient children. Now, tell me loudly, who is the most well-behaved child?"
The crowd immediately erupted in noise, with all the little hands raised, jumping and shouting, "Me! Me!!! I'm the best behaved!"
Xiao Bai let everyone rush around, and only after their emotions had calmed down a bit did he press down his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
Xiao Bai said, "I see your enthusiasm. Now, I'm going to choose one child to pick cucumbers."
There was another uproar below.
Xiao Bai's gaze swept across the pile of dolls, pausing for a moment when he passed Liu Liu, his forehead creased with worry.
This big Yan Yan actually mingled among the dolls, standing tall and proud, relying on her height advantage to try and be chosen first.
But Xiaobai's gaze quickly swept past her and finally landed on someone else.
"Li Baibai, you pick the first cucumber!"
Old Li, who was watching the commotion, was stunned for a moment, then pointed to himself, "Me?"
"That's right! It's you! You come and pick them."
"That's not a good idea. You kids can go pick them; I won't get involved."
Some children were shouting, saying that they had just said the best-behaved child, and Li Baibai is not a child!
Xiao Bai said, "Let Li Baibai pick the first cucumber, and let the best-behaved child pick the rest."
The children then stopped shouting.
Old Li still declined, but Xiao Bai said, "If you hadn't taught us how to plant them, our melons and fruits wouldn't have grown big. Now that you're here, come quickly!"
After listening to Xiaobai's words, the children all agreed that Li Baibai should pick the first cucumber.
The kindergarten director, Aunt Huang, and others also smiled and persuaded Old Li to give in, saying that the children were showing their filial piety and he shouldn't let them down.
Old Li stopped refusing. He laughed heartily and stepped forward. He saw that the largest cucumber vine had grown to nearly 20 centimeters, with a dark green skin, obvious thorns, and the yellow flowers at the top had not yet completely withered.
"You can pick this one now!" he said, and immediately several little heads crowded around him, getting very close.
The cucumber, about to be picked, became the focus of the entire garden.
It hangs straight down on the vine, glistening with a moist sheen in the morning light, as if it embodies the efforts of the entire spring.
Liuliu immediately exclaimed, "This is truly a wonderful melon!!"
Robin chimed in, "Yes, yes, it must taste delicious!"
"Oops, your fork almost hit my eye!"
"..."
Dudu brought over a bamboo basket, and Lao Li successfully picked the star cucumber and put it in the basket.
He has absolutely no sense of ritual.
But the children valued the sense of ceremony, and cheers resounded throughout Little Red Horse Academy the moment he took it off.
"Success!!!"
"Alright, now it's up to you guys."
Old Li retreated to the perimeter, handing the spotlight over to the children.
At this moment, Xiaobai picked up the cucumber from the bamboo basket. She held the cucumber in both hands as if it were a precious treasure, and carefully showed it to everyone.
The cucumbers were heavy, with cool skin, and prickly bumps that felt real to the touch.
"What do we do now?" Liuliu asked.
Xiao Bai had already planned: "Clean it up, slice it, and everyone can share and try it!"
Xiaomi laughed and said, "One isn't enough."
Dudu said, "Pick a few more."
After a brief discussion, everyone agreed that the members of the "Reclamation Team"—Xiaobai, Liuliu, Xier, Xiaomi, Dudu, and Robin—would harvest the second fruit together.
Of course, some children expressed different opinions, such as Zhou Zizi and Tian Xiaoya, who believed that Xiaobai and the others chose themselves, so it didn't count.
But their opposition was useless; if they spoke out too much, they would be suppressed.
And why can Robin do it, but they can't? They're all the youngest kids!
Xiaobai and the other five people stood around the cucumber trellis. Xiaobai held the cucumber by the base, while the other five placed their hands on hers.
"One, two, three—pick!"
With all six hands working together, the cucumber snapped in two.
The third cucumber was picked by Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang had been quietly taking care of the vegetable garden these days. Others might not know, but Xiao Bai knew very well.
……
Six ripe cucumbers were picked. Under Teacher Jiang's guidance, the cucumbers were carefully washed, sliced thinly, and placed on a white porcelain plate.
The pale green melon slices are neatly arranged, emitting a refreshing aroma.
Each child was given a piece.
"I'll taste the cucumbers I grew myself first," Xiaobai announced.
Everyone carefully put the cucumber slices into their mouths—
"Click".
The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the silence.
Immediately afterwards, gasps of amazement rose and fell:
"So crispy!"
"So sweet!"
"It's different from the one I bought!"
"It tastes even better than meat!!!"
"It tastes like potato chips!"
……
Praises poured in, with everyone saying these were truly excellent cucumbers.
Liuliu finished her slice in a few bites and stared longingly at the plate: "Can I have another slice?"
Xiao Bai said, "There aren't that many, just one piece for each person!"
Liu Liu complained, "It's not even enough to fill a gap between your teeth."
Zhou Zizi ran up to her with a grin: "I'm just a little kid, I've got enough to fill my teeth, Liu Liu, look, my little mouth is full, hahaha~~"
"Go away, go away, you buzz around like a fly."
This is bad! Zhou Zizi is angry because Liuliu actually called her a fly. She keeps nagging Liuliu, demanding that she apologize, or she'll follow Liuliu wherever she goes.
Durian is so annoying.
The following week, the vegetable garden experienced a mini-harvest boom.
The bell peppers turned from green to yellow, then gradually tinged with red; the eggplants grew a glossy purplish-black, their heavy weight bending the branches; a dozen or so cherry tomatoes ripened, like strings of little red lanterns; and four more cucumbers were picked…
On the small blackboard beside the vegetable garden, progress bars were filled to the top: tomatoes 100%, peppers 100%, cucumbers 100%, eggplants 90%...
One Sunday afternoon, a special "harvest feast" was held at Little Red Pony Academy.
Teacher Jiang used the vegetables the children harvested to cook a table full of dishes: cucumber with minced garlic, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with green peppers, braised eggplant... Each dish brought a cheer when it was served.
The thing everyone is most looking forward to is the watermelon.
Although it's not fully ripe yet, after checking it, Lao Li said, "It will be ready in about another week."
Therefore, the watermelon's ripening day was set for a Saturday a week later, and everyone agreed to hold a "Watermelon Harvest Festival" on that day.